UK--currency & metric

[oakdale160]

As I lived in the UK as a child and teenager, when talking to British people about my memories they find it amusing when i talk about--A couple of bob or thirty shillings etc. The new currency is totally accepted. (although seems to lack the slang terms for coins) but metric is another story, It seems to be a very mixed bag--beer sold in pints, but spirits in metric. Petrol sold in litres but usage quoted in miles/gallon.
Some of this occurs in Canada but it is very age-related, my children never talk in Imperial and are embarrassed when I do, while older people still talk in the old units. Is that the case in the UK too?

[MDMK]

Is that the case in the UK too?

yes

[lindosfan1]

I still measure in feet and inches. Anybody talking centimetres I am lost.
Pounds and ounces fine not grams and kilograms I have not got a clue.
Pints and gallons easy litres not a chance.

[J.J.B.]

I have no problem converting between imperial and metric although litres per 100km means nothing to me. What I get messed-up with is Imperial pints and gallons vs US pints and gallons. Plus the US don’t use stones and I struggle dividing my weight in pounds by 14 to work out how much I put on over Christmas!

Being born around the time of currency decimalisation, I have almost no knowledge or use for ‘old money’ designations but frequently use terms like “ten bob” or “a few shillings”.

I’m in Chicago at the moment (-20°C!) and get increasingly irritated by too many ‘z’s and too few ‘u’s, and degrees Fahrenheit? Fawgeddabowdit!

[Big Boy]

This country is just as bad. Last week my son bought some mats. The size was shown in the catalogue as 2 x 1.2 x 2, which was:

2 metres long
1.2 metres wide
2 inches thick

I had already measured his existing mats as 200cm x 120cm x 5cm. The catalogue also sold 2 x 1.2 x 5, which were over double the price of what he had purchased previously. We needed to telephone the company to clarify.

[Dannie Boy]

Yes it’s quite strange that in a country that is predominantly metric, feet and inches still prevails in a number of areas - pipes and paint brushes are often quoted in imperial sizes

[pharvey]

pipes and paint brushes are often quoted in imperial sizes

BSP (British Standard Pipe) sizes (imperial) are used worldwide.

I was working in Denmark some years ago where we needed some imperial to metric pipe-work adaptors - a somewhat irate fitter pointed out that "the UK was getting closer to the metric system inch by inch"

[Nereus]

One confusing thing that has only half made the conversion from inches to metric is car tyres(tires for Pete).

Rim sizes are still measured in inches, both the diameter and the width, while the tyre size is metric. And just to add a bit more confusion we now have an "aspect ratio" included!

https://www.tyresizecalculator.com/char ... l-diameter

[oakdale160]

From pharvey: I was working in Denmark some years ago where we needed some imperial to metric pipe-work adaptors - a somewhat irate fitter pointed out that "the UK was getting closer to the metric system inch by inch"

That is so funny--guess it should be---centimeter by centimeter.

[oakdale160]

Reminds me of that old saying

Give him 2.54 centimeters and he'll take 1609 meters.

[arcadianagain]

I used to work in the international freight industry, the majority of countries used the metric system, all except the US haulage industry who insisted on the imperial measures. We always believed it was because of the Teamsters Union`s refusal to align themselves to the rest of the world

[oakdale160]

It is fun to tease Americans and ask them why they continue to be so dedicated to measurements based on British royalty.Telling them that the yard is the distance between Henry First's nose and thumb and the inch the length of his thumb.

[handdrummer]

It is fun to tease Americans and ask them why they continue to be so dedicated to measurements based on British royalty.Telling them that the yard is the distance between Henry First's nose and thumb and the inch the length of his thumb.

What was used for measurements before Henry's appendages? Any relationship between a front/back/school yard and Henry's nose/thumb?

[oakdale160]

They were using cubits, the old Roman system, before the yard, foot and inch.

[handdrummer]

They were using cubits, the old Roman system, before the yard, foot and inch.

Thank you.
If cubits were Roman what was Noah using to build the mythical ark? King Jimmy says god told Noah to build the ark x number of cubits long and wide.